Saturday, January 23, 2016

Caller to Rush Limbaugh Explains the Trump Phenomenon

... the Democrat Party [is] openly the party of the fringes ... And the Republican Party...has become the de facto party of white men. The only meaningful difference, though, is that the Republican Party is not allowed to appeal to its own constituency...

RUSH: Here is Edward in New York, 28 years old, great to have you on the program, Edward. Hi.

CALLER: Hey, Rush. Longtime listener, first-time caller. I'm in my twenties, and I am a Trump supporter, and I guess I'm also a member of what people are calling the alt right. And I just wanted to, like, explain for maybe a lot of your listeners why Donald Trump is so popular, despite the consternation of many in the conservative movement and the Republican Party. And just really simply, the Democrat Party for the past half century has been openly the party of the fringes, right? The party of disaffected minority voters, black, Mexican immigrants, single women, feminists, all these things, homosexuals in the past, you know, ten years. And the Republican Party, whether it wants to admit this or not, has become the de facto party of white men. The only meaningful difference, though, is that the Republican Party is not allowed to appeal to its own constituency, while the Democrat Party obviously does nothing but appeal to its own constituents. So when you look at the political scene in America like this, Donald Trump not only becomes understandable, but he kind of becomes inevitable.

RUSH: So you think people your age view Trump as something much needed, brand-new, breaking from the constraint formula that both parties find themselves in?

CALLER: Yes. And when people, you mentioned Charles Krauthammer earlier, you know, being so puzzled as to why Trump seems impervious to dropping poll numbers when he does things like insult Megyn Kelly. It's because, as weird as it sounds, it's not really about Trump. Donald Trump can kind of do whatever he wants because in a lot of ways he's the only person that seems serious. I know that sounds weird to the ears of someone like Jeb --

RUSH: I totally get it. No, no, no, no. My burden as a host is I totally understand you. And the fact that I understand you is making me an enemy in some of my own sectors, the fact that I understand where you're coming from. When you say it's not really about Trump, it's the opportunity Trump presents, it's the newness, it's the what-have-you, it's the breaking out of whatever it is that's got us shackled, I totally get what you're saying. I like the way you expressed it, too. But I gotta run. I'm really out of time. Edward, thanks very much.

Some Republican operatives believe the future is where the Democrats are; Democrats who have driven white men away and gathered every America-hating loony-toon to its bosom. It doesn't take a political genius to figure out that this huge demographic - that neither side wants - is happy to find a leader who's not ashamed of them and is willing to step up and be their champion.